Pentecostals-08.Pdf
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ABOUT THE PEW FORUM ON RELIGION & P UBLIC LIFE This report was produced by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life with generous support from the Tem - pleton Foundation. The Forum provides opinion leaders with timely, impartial information on issues at the in - tersection of religion and public affairs. It also serves as a neutral venue for discussion of these important issues. As an independent, nonpartisan and nonadvocacy organization, the Forum does not take positions on policy debates. The Forum is a project of the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan “fact tank” that provides in - formation on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Both organizations are based in Washington, D.C., and are sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts. This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Luis Lugo, Director Sandra Stencel, Deputy Director John Green, Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics Timothy S. Shah, Senior Fellow in Religion and World Affairs Brian J. Grim, Senior Research Fellow Gregory Smith, Research Fellow Robert Ruby, Senior Editor Allison Pond, Research Associate Pew Research Center Andrew Kohut, President Paul Taylor, Executive Vice President Scott Keeter, Director of Survey Research The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life 1615 L Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington, D.C. 20036-5610 Phone (202) 419-4550 Fax (202) 419-4559 www.pewforum.org Copyright 2007 Pew Research Center First released in October 2006 CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. 3 Glossary .............................................................................................................................. 11 Roadmap to the Report .................................................................................................... 13 Section I. Religion and Demography ............................................................................... 15 1. Religious Practices ................................................................................................. 15 2. Religious Beliefs .................................................................................................... 25 3. Religious Affiliation .............................................................................................. 32 4. Demographic Characteristics ................................................................................ 35 Section II. Moral and Social Issues .................................................................................. 41 Section III. Social and Economic Outlook ........................................................................ 49 Section IV. Political Views ................................................................................................. 61 Appendix: Religious Demography .................................................................................... 73 Brazil .......................................................................................................................... 75 Chile ........................................................................................................................... 77 Guatemala ................................................................................................................. 79 India ........................................................................................................................... 81 Kenya ......................................................................................................................... 83 Nigeria ....................................................................................................................... 85 Philippines ................................................................................................................. 87 South Africa ............................................................................................................... 89 South Korea ............................................................................................................... 91 United States ............................................................................................................. 93 Appendix: Survey Methodology ....................................................................................... 95 Topline Results .................................................................................................................... 99 PREFACE When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ... All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ... ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’ Acts 2:1-2, 4, 17-18 (NIV) Religion, in ways both obvious and subtle, is reshaping the world’s social and political landscape. Despite pre - dictions of religion’s demise, since the late 1970s we have been witnessing the growing power of religion in shaping people’s public identity. Talk of “secularization” and of a “post-religious” society has given way to a renewed recognition of religion’s influence in people’s social and political lives. This re-emergence of “public religion” is happening throughout the world and across religious traditions – from Islam and Hinduism to Buddhism and Judaism. Christianity, the world’s largest religion, is no exception. Within Christianity, pentecostal and related renewalist or Spirit-filled movements are by all accounts among the fastest growing. The major strands of pentecostalism now represent at least one quarter of all Christians, according to the World Christian Database , ranking second only to Catholicism in the number of followers. In direct and indirect ways, pentecostal beliefs and practices are remaking the face of world Christianity. In Latin America, for example, pentecostals now account for approximately three-in-four Protestants. Despite the large and growing influence of the pentecostal movement, there is relatively little research avail - able that gauges its influence on global public life. To help gain a better understanding of the nature and dynamics of global pentecostalism and related renewalist movements, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has conducted a pathbreaking, cross-national survey of the views of pentecostal publics on a range of politi - cal, social and economic issues, as well as their religious beliefs and practices. With generous support from the John Templeton Foundation, the Forum conducted surveys in the United States and nine countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America with sizable renewalist populations: Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, the Philippines and South Korea. The results of the surveys begin to paint a rich portrait of the views of adherents in these renewalist movements. Pentecostals take their name from the biblical feast of Pentecost (in Judaism, the harvest festival of Shavuot), which took place 50 days after Passover. Early followers of Jesus who had gathered for the festival, as de - scribed in the New Testament Book of Acts, were said to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” and able to “speak in other tongues.” Although closely resembling evangelical Protestants in many of their doctrinal beliefs, pen - tecostals part ways with their evangelical cousins by strongly affirming that such practices as speaking in tongues, prophesying, divine healing and other miraculous signs of the Spirit are as valid today as they were in the early church. This diverse and dynamic branch of Christianity is difficult for even religious scholars to describe. Most agree, how - ever, that it includes two major groups: pentecostals and charismatics. Together, they are sometimes referred to as “renewalists” because of their common belief in the spiritually renewing gifts of the Holy Spirit. Spirit and Power: A 10-Country Survey of Pentecostals 1 P REFACE Pentecostals belong either to one of the historical pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ, that have their roots in the American religious revivals of the early 20th cen - tury, or to newer, largely independent indigenous churches. These newer churches, sometimes labeled “neo- pentecostal” or “neo-charismatic,” number in the tens of thousands and are especially prevalent in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Charismatics share many of the experiences that are distinctive to pentecostalism but remain members of mainstream Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox denominations. This movement, sometimes referred to as “sec - ond wave” pentecostalism, emerged in significant numbers in the 1960s as part of what its members consid - ered to be a much-needed spiritual renewal within these older churches. The roots of the modern pentecostal movement are in the American Midwest. In 1901, Charles Parham, the leader of a Bible school in Topeka, Kan., came to believe that the speaking in tongues that he observed